Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns image encoding/decoding, and more specifically, to an intra prediction mode encoding/decoding method and apparatus.
Related Art
Demand for high-quality, high-resolution images such as HD (High Definition) images and UHD (Ultra High Definition) images increases in various applicable fields. As image data advances to high resolution and high quality, the data amount is relatively increased compared to existing image data. Thus, when image data is transmitted through media such as conventional wired/wireless broadband circuit networks or is stored in existing storage media, costs for transmission and storage go up. To address such problems that may occur as image data happens to have high resolution and high quality, high-efficiency image compression technologies may be utilized.
Various image compression technologies exist, such as intra prediction that predicts the value of a pixel included in a current picture from a previous or subsequent picture of the current picture, inter prediction that predicts the value of a pixel included in a current picture using information on the pixel in the current picture, and entropy encoding that assigns a shorter code to a high-frequent value while assigning a longer code to a low-frequent value. Such image compression technologies allow image data to be effectively compressed and to be then transmitted or stored.